Farooq hopes train in Kashmir will bring development

Former chief minister and Minister for New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah Wednesday hoped that the Kashmir Valley would soon be linked by train to the rest of India.

"I hope the train will soon connect the valley with the rest of the country. There are lots of places within and outside the railways has to link with the state. This will end many of our difficulties. I hope we will see the train from Kashmir reaching other parts of the country soon," Abdullah said.

"This will generate employment for lots of Kashmiris and bring development in the backward state," he said in his short speech.

He was speaking on the occasion of the inauguration of a train service linking Qazigund to Anantnag district. This will connect south Kashmir with Srinagar and other parts of the north of the valley.

Abdullah demanded that the minimum qualification to get lower grade employment in railways should be Class 8 for backward places like Jammu and Kashmir.

He expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi for taking out time to visit the valley to flag off the rail service.